Fabrication and characterization of stir cast Al2024/SiCp metal matrix composite

Abstract

The arising issues concerning to requirement of high strength, light weight and energy conservation among automobile, aircraft and marine applications has significantly increased the demand for advanced materials having enhanced capabilities to sustain and perform efficiently at elevated temperature. Aluminum alloys have been selected as ultimate choice for the fabrication of structural components for aircraft and marine ships. These alloys are being reinforced with different kind of reinforcements to yield desired properties like high fatigue strength, heat and wear resistance combined with improved mechanical properties. The ongoing developments among these materials have allowed the product designer to select variety of materials to minimize cost, increase effectiveness with optimal utilization of resources. The aim of this study is to fabricate Al2024/SiCp metal matrix composite through stir casting route with variation in proportion of SiC reinforcement. The objective of study is to investigate the effect of variation in proportion of SiC in matrix on the mechanical properties of processed composite. SiC reinforcement of 400 Mesh has been used to produce the samples with 2, 4, 6, and 8 wt% using stir casting technique. After the fabrication of composite tests were conducted to assess the mechanical properties such as impact strength, hardness, and tensile strength. It has been observed that overall tensile strength decreases with increase in proportion of SiC whereas overall hardness and impact strength increases with increase in proportion of SiC.